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  • 11 months ago
TTPost has rejected a 24 percent counter-proposal by the Trinidad and Tobago Postal Workers Union in salary increases for its workers.


The company adopts a view that the Union's proposal cannot be a serious one.


Meanwhile, the Union accuses TTPost of not being accommodating at a meeting which was scheduled for Thursday.


Alicia Boucher has the details.
Transcript
00:00The TNT Postal Corporation is referring to a 24% counter-proposal by the TNT Postal Workers
00:06Union covering two bargaining periods as unprecedented.
00:10It follows the company's offer of 4% for the said periods 2014-2016 and 2017-2019.
00:18While the management of TNT Post says it doesn't believe that the counter-proposal represents
00:23quote a genuine proposal but rather appears to be another unfortunate and deliberate delaying
00:29tactic aimed at advancing the personal agendas of the union's executive to the detriment
00:36of the expectations of the employees, end quote.
00:40TTPost states that a previous proposal by the union of 18.6% was not feasible or sustainable
00:46based on the economic situation and a decline in traditional mail services.
00:52The corporation says it remains committed to engaging in fair and balanced negotiations
00:58while safeguarding the interests of its employees against the backdrop of its financial realities.
01:04However, Secretary General of the TTPWU David Forbes hasn't taken kindly to the statement
01:10he claims was released to workers at TTPost.
01:13We have not even sat for the afternoon and they are already negotiating with the workers
01:19of TTPost.
01:20Tell me Trinidad and Tobago if this is proper.
01:23All of them are inside of there.
01:25All we ask for is for the arrangement for the accommodation of our team to be properly
01:29seated.
01:30We rearrange.
01:31We even offered to have the tables and chairs moved on our own, right?
01:35And they have refused it saying that the persons who are responsible for the arrangement of
01:41the seating, right, is the people who own the building.
01:45Forbes states that it was uncomfortable, adding that the union was objecting to the venue
01:49but attended anyway.
01:51If you will see how they have arranged this room for us, right, and we have even asked
01:56them to go and sit.
01:58We have even asked them if they could go and sit where they wanted us to sit and they have
02:02also refused.
02:04So it's total disrespect to the workers.
02:06It's total disrespect to the negotiating team of the union.
02:09We are not going to tolerate it.
02:11Forbes explains that aspects such as inflation and the non-consolidation of the cost of living
02:16allowance were all factored into the counterproposal.
02:19He adds that the 24% accounts for a decrease from an initial 20% to 15% for the first bargaining
02:26period and a proposal of 9% for the second period.
02:31What we did, we broke it up and in the last year what we would have looked at is the inflation
02:36rate again, what the Minister of Finance would have said in his budget statement with regards
02:40to inflation and we would have also taken into understanding and consideration the question
02:45of the increases in gases over time by the government.
02:48The TTPWU at the time of Forbes' address indicated that it would have remained at the venue until
02:55the time set to end the meeting, which was 5.30pm.
02:59Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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